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AGENDA BOARD OF TRUSTEES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & CONSUMER SERVICES FEBRUARY 27, 2001 Substitute Page ******************************************************** Substitute Item 1 Sembler and Sembler, Inc. Aquaculture Lease Modification REQUEST: Consideration of authorization to modify an existing aquaculture lease to include an additional 1.3-acre parcel of sovereignty submerged land and the overlying water column in the Indian River for the construction of an aquaculture facility. COUNTY: Indian River Lease No. 31-AQ-544 APPLICANT: Sembler and Sembler, Inc. LOCATION: Section 6, Township 31 South, Range 39 East, along the western shore of the Indian River in the Indian River-Malabar to Vero Beach Aquatic Preserve in the town of Sebastian. CONSIDERATION: The lease fee for the modified aquaculture lease will increase by $73.80 to a total of $239.50: representing (1) an increase in the base annual rental fee of $63.80 representing $31.90 per acre or fraction thereof for the parcel including the water column; and (2) an increase in the annual surcharge of $10.00, from $70.00 to $80.00, representing $10.00 per acre or fraction thereof, for deposit in the General Inspection Trust Fund pursuant to section 597.010, F.S. Commencing January 1, 2005, the lease fees shall be adjusted every five years, based upon the five-year average change in the Consumer Price Index. STAFF REMARKS: The applicant is requesting approval to modify an existing aquaculture lease to add a 1.3-acre parcel. The existing parcel will be designated as Parcel A and the new parcel will be designated as Parcel B. Aquaculture Lease No. 31-AQ-544 was issued to Sembler and Sembler, Inc., on June 7, 1999, and currently includes 6.66 acres of sovereignty submerged lands in the Indian River, Indian River County. Parcel B will be used exclusively to conduct aquacultural activities associated with the company's existing in-water hard clam production facilities and proposed on-shore processing and distribution facility. Parcel B will provide space and a dock for an in-water clam nursery system, vessel dockage, and loading and unloading activities. The proposed Parcel B includes about 1.3 acres of state-owned land extending about 420 feet from the shoreline into the Indian River. The parcel includes the submerged land from the mean high water line to a depth of 4.5 feet, identified as a rectangle about 135 feet by 420 feet waterward of the applicant's riparian upland property at Lot 2, Block 1, on the western side of the Indian River. The substrate includes sand shoals and an oyster bar, with seagrass beds. The oyster bar is located parallel to the shoreline and seagrasses are found in patches over the proposed site. The main access dock was designed to extend over and above the oyster bar and the seagrass beds, while the docking facility and the clam nursery system are located further offshore to minimize adverse environmental impacts to seagrass communities. Sembler and Sembler, Inc., has been associated with the seafood industry in Sebastian for 100 years, and has been involved in commercial hard clam aquaculture for the last 16 years: operating four aquaculture leases in Indian River County, hard clam nursery systems, a processing facility, and distributing aquacultural products. The applicant requested the additional parcel to conduct aquaculture activities associated with the company's planned new aquaculture facility. Currently, on-shore operations are conducted in privately-held facilities that are leased by the company, and this leasing represents uncertainty in the company's long-term business plan. The addition of Parcel B will allow the company to link components that are critical to the success of its business plan. Board of Trustees Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services Agenda – February 27, 2001 Substitute Page Two ******************************************************** Substitute Item 1, cont. Section 253.68(2)(b), F.S., provides that "it shall be the policy of the state to foster aquaculture development when the aquaculture activity is consistent with state resource management goals, environmental protection, proprietary interests, and the state aquaculture plan." Additionally, section 253.68, F.S., provides that "the Board of Trustees may lease submerged lands to which it has title for the conduct of aquaculture activities and grant exclusive use of the bottom and the water column for either commercial or experimental purposes." The proposed project is located in the Indian River-Malabar to Vero Beach Aquatic Preserve. Section 258.42(1)(b), F.S., provides that aquaculture is in the public interest and that aquaculture leases may be authorized in aquatic preserves. The application was noticed pursuant to section 258.70, F.S. No objections were filed for the application. A consideration of the status of any local government comprehensive plan was not made for this item. DACS has determined that the proposed action is not subject to the local government planning process. (See Attachment 1, Pages 1-56) RECOMMEND APPROVAL ******************************************************** Item 2 Morris/Frankel Aquaculture Lease REQUEST: Consideration of authorization to issue a ten-year sovereignty submerged land aquaculture lease containing a total of 0.75 acres, more or less, and the overlying water column. COUNTY: Monroe Application No. 44-AQ-858 APPLICANTS: Harry Morris and Jeffrey J. Frankel LOCATION: Parcels A and B are located south of Sugarloaf Key in the Atlantic Ocean, within the local jurisdiction of Monroe County, at the following coordinates: Parcel A 24o31.330"N / 81o32.041"W and Parcel B 24o31.504"N / 81o34.722"W (center points in latitude and longitude; decimal minutes). CONSIDERATION: $41.90 annually, representing (1) an initial lease fee of $31.90, at a rate of $31.90 per acre or fraction thereof, including the water column; and (2) an annual surcharge of $10.00, representing $10.00 per acre or fraction thereof, for deposit in the General Inspection Trust Fund pursuant to section 597.010, F.S. Commencing January 1, 2005, the lease fees shall be adjusted every five years, based upon the five-year average change in the Consumer Price Index.
STAFF REMARKS: The applicants are requesting approval of a commercial aquaculture lease to cultivate and harvest live rock within a 0.75-acre aquaculture lease containing two parcels of sovereignty submerged lands in the Atlantic Ocean. The project has been modified from the original lease application submitted by the applicants. The modification, which has been agreed Board of Trustees Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services Agenda – February 27, 2001 Page Three ******************************************************** Item 2, cont. upon by the applicants and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS), reduces the original proposal from three parcels to two parcels, consequently reducing the acreage from 1.0 acre to about 0.75 acres. Parcel A includes 0.5 acres of state-owned land in 33-35 feet of water. The area covers about 600 feet by 600 feet containing coarse sand overlying a lime rock substrate. Parcel B includes 0.25 acres of state-owned land in 15-18 feet of water. The area covers about 350 feet by 350 feet containing coarse sand overlying a lime rock substrate. The proposed project involves the placement of approximately 2-4 tons of non-indigenous rock per year on the seafloor. The raw material will be obtained from a quarry near Miami, Florida. Lime rock, Miami oolite, will act as substrate to attract larval marine organisms to colonize the rock and mimic natural reef communities. Once a desired growth stage has been achieved, the applicant will harvest the rocks with attached marine life and sell them in the tropical marine aquarium trade. The culture of sedentary marine life, referred to as "live rock", has become an integral part of the marine life aquarium trade, since federal and state regulations were enacted to prohibit the harvest of natural live rock communities. Section 253.68(2)(b), F.S., provides that "it shall be the policy of the state to foster aquaculture development when the aquaculture activity is consistent with state resource management goals, environmental protection, proprietary interests, and the state aquaculture plan." Additionally, section 253.68, F.S., provides that "the Board of Trustees may lease submerged lands to which it has title for the conduct of aquaculture activities and grant exclusive use of the bottom and the water column .... for either commercial or experimental purposes." The application was noticed pursuant to section 253.70, F.S. No objections were filed for the modified application, which included only Parcels A and B. Staff from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary opposed including Parcel C in the lease, and the applicants agreed to eliminate Parcel C from their application. A consideration of the status of any local government comprehensive plan was not made for this item. DACS has determined that the proposed action is not subject to the local government planning process. (See Attachment 2, Pages 1-33) RECOMMEND APPROVAL SUBJECT TO SPECIAL LEASE CONDITIONS ******************************************************** Item 3 CalBioMarine Technologies, Inc. Aquaculture Lease REQUEST: Consideration of authorization to issue a ten-year sovereignty submerged land aquaculture lease containing approximately 2 acres and the overlying water column. COUNTY: Monroe Application No. 44-AQ-852 APPLICANT: CalBioMarine Technologies, Inc. Board of Trustees Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services Agenda – February 27, 2001 Page Four ******************************************************** Item 3, cont. LOCATION: Approximately 0.5 miles south of the westernmost point of Long Key in the Atlantic Ocean, within the local jurisdiction of Monroe County, at the following coordinates: 24o47.686"N / 80o50.477"W (center points in latitude and longitude; decimal minutes). CONSIDERATION: $83.80 annually, representing (1) an initial lease fee of $63.80, at a rate of $31.90 per acre or fraction thereof, including the water column; and (2) an annual surcharge of $20.00, representing $10.00 per acre or fraction thereof, for deposit in the General Inspection Trust Fund pursuant to section 597.010, F.S. Commencing January 1, 2005, the lease fees shall be adjusted every five years, based upon the five-year average change in the Consumer Price Index. STAFF REMARKS: Mr. Dominick Mendola has filed an application for a sovereignty submerged lands aquaculture lease on behalf of CalBioMarine Technologies, Inc. The project has been modified from the original lease application submitted by the applicant; the applicant has agreed to reduce the original proposal from eight parcels to one parcel and reduce the acreage from 16 acres to approximately 2 acres. The applicant originally applied for eight lease sites for the purpose of culturing the mangrove tunicate, Ecteinascidia turbinata. The tunicates are being grown to provide marine pharmaceutical products. The proposed parcel includes approximately 2 acres of state-owned land in 15-18 feet of water in the Florida Straits in Monroe County. The area covers about 400 feet by 1,000 feet, containing coarse sand overlying a lime rock substrate. The proposed project involves the placement of frame modules (racks) on the seafloor. Set lines that support the growing tunicates are attached to the frame modules. Before the set lines are placed on the frames, they are suspended in on-shore hatchery tanks where larvae are induced to settle on, or attach to, the lines. When sufficient larvae cover the set lines, the starter colonies are removed from the hatchery tanks and placed on the off-shore frames where the tunicates continue to grow under natural conditions. Portions of the colonies may be harvested in 60-90 days, and part of the adult colony is left on the set lines to start another colony. The sole product from the proposed project is tunicates. Harvested tunicates will be sold and distributed in frozen form. The final product will consist of chemically extracted isolates that will be used in developing anti-cancer drugs. The triangular-shaped racks are constructed of one-inch PVC pipe with one-foot legs that lift the rack off of the seafloor. Each frame (eight feet long x five feet wide x four feet high) will support about twenty set lines and will be anchored to the seafloor using a combination of cast-in-place concrete anchors ("dead man" anchors) and sand anchors (auger-type anchors). All anchors and frames will meet the specifications developed by a licensed engineer to withstand the wave forces encountered in hurricane conditions. A minimum draft of eight feet above the racks will be maintained to minimize hazards to navigation. Section 253.68(2)(b), F.S., provides that "it shall be the policy of the state to foster aquaculture development when the aquaculture activity is consistent with state resource management goals, environmental protection, proprietary interests, and the state aquaculture plan." Additionally, section 253.68, F.S., provides that "the Board of Trustees may lease submerged lands to which it has title for the conduct of aquaculture activities and grant exclusive use of the bottom and the water column .... for either commercial or experimental purposes."
Board of Trustees Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services Agenda – February 27, 2001 Substitute Page Five ******************************************************** Item 3, cont. The application was noticed pursuant to section 253.70, F.S. No objections were filed for the modified application; however, staff from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) opposed the original request for eight parcels. A consideration of the status of any local government comprehensive plan was not made for this item. DACS has determined that the proposed action is not subject to the local government planning process. (See Attachment 3, Pages 1-32) RECOMMEND APPROVAL SUBJECT TO SPECIAL LEASE CONDITIONS ******************************************************** Substitute Item 4 Franklin County Aquaculture Use Area Authorization/Establishment of Application Process REQUEST: Consideration of authorization to (1) use a tract of sovereignty submerged land as an Aquaculture Use Area to cultivate hard clams, and (2) establish an application process to select qualified applicants for individual lease parcels within the aquaculture use area. COUNTY: Franklin APPLICANT: Franklin County Board of County Commissioners LOCATION: Sections 27, 34 and 35, Township 6 South, Range 2 West, in Alligator Harbor, Alligator Harbor Aquatic Preserve, near the town of St. Teresa Beach . CONSIDERATION: The lease fees for the proposed leases within the Alligator Harbor Aquaculture Use Area represent (1) a base annual rental fee of $15.95 per acre or fraction thereof; and (2) an annual surcharge of $10.00, representing $10.00 per acre or fraction thereof, for deposit in the General Inspection Trust Fund pursuant to section 597.010, F.S. Commencing January 1, 2005, the lease fees shall be adjusted every five years, based upon the five-year average change in the Consumer Price Index. STAFF REMARKS: Because of the commercial viability of clam farming in Levy and Dixie Counties, there has been strong interest in finding new areas in the Big Bend region to conduct clam farming activities. This request represents the culmination of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' (DACS) efforts over the past two years to identify and evaluate a tract of sovereignty submerged lands in Franklin County. DACS has concluded resource assessments and experimental field trials and determined that the proposed site in Alligator Harbor is appropriate for growing hard clams. The proposed aquaculture use area includes about 75 to 100 acres of state-owned submerged land designated as a Resource Protection Area 3 along the northern shore of Alligator Harbor. The Franklin County Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution on August 1, 2000 requesting that DACS identify sovereignty submerged lands suitable for aquaculture in Alligator Harbor and seek approval from the Board of Trustees to lease these lands to qualified applicants. Section 597.003(1)(k)2, F.S., provides that DACS shall identify and evaluate specific tracts of sovereignty submerged lands and water columns in various areas of the state to determine where such lands are suitable for leasing for aquacultural purposes. Board of Trustees Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services Agenda – February 27, 2001 Substitute Page Six ******************************************************** Substitute Item 4, cont. The aquaculture use area, if approved, will be subdivided into individual aquaculture lease parcels and leased to qualified lease applicants. In order to accommodate all potential applicants, DACS recommends a specific schedule for receiving applications and a specific process to select qualified applicants. The schedule includes a time frame in which complete applications and application fees must be received. The process of selecting from the pool of qualified applicants will be based on a formula that uses the number of qualified applicants, the number of leases available, and the size of individual lease parcels. The specific process will involve (1) increasing the number of leases by reducing the size of individual lease parcels (from 2.0 acres to 1.5 acres) to accommodate applicants if the number of qualified applicants does not exceed the number of available leases; or (2) selecting lessees by lottery from a pool of qualified applicants if the number of qualified applicants exceeds the number of available leases. DACS, at the will of the Board of Trustees , will come back to the Board of Trustees with a list of qualified applicants that will be issued leases. Section 253.68(2)(b), F.S., provides that "it shall be the policy of the state to foster aquaculture development when the aquaculture activity is consistent with state resource management goals, environmental protection, proprietary interests, and the state aquaculture plan." Additionally, section 253.68, F.S., provides that "the Board of Trustees may lease submerged lands to which it has title for the conduct of aquaculture activities and grant exclusive use of the bottom and the water column .... for either commercial or experimental purposes." The proposed aquaculture use area is within the Alligator Harbor Aquatic Preserve. Section 258.42, F.S., provides that aquaculture is in the public interest and that aquaculture leases may be authorized in aquatic preserves. A public workshop was conducted on December 11, 2000, in Apalachicola, Florida, to inform the public about the project and to receive public comment. No objections to the application were received at the public workshop or have been subsequently filed. A consideration of the status of any local government comprehensive plans was not made for this item. DACS has determined that the proposed action is not subject to the local government planning process. (See Attachment 4, Pages 1- 23) RECOMMEND (1) APPROVAL TO USE A TRACT OF SOVEREIGNTY SUBMERGED LAND IN ALLIGATOR HARBOR AS AN AQUACULTURE USE AREA; AND (2) DEFERRAL OF ESTABLISHMENT OF AN APPLICATION PROCESS FOR INDIVIDUAL LEASES TO THE MARCH 29, 2001 CABINET MEETING ******************************************************* |
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